An outbreak of violence in southern Afghanistan on Friday left nine civilians dead, including two children.

The deaths came one day after the United Nations announced the number of Afghan civilians killed in war-related violence rose 15 percent in the first half of the year.
    
A total of 1,462 civilians died in the first six months in 2011.

U.N. special representative in Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura condemned the violence.  He urged combatants from all sides to respect the lives of the Afghan people.

"These are not just figures. These are names. These are people.  These are men, women, elder people, children," he said. "These are Afghan people."